I admit to buying a lot of stuff based on snazzy packaging, which may explain the abundance of crummy music in my CD collection. However, I’m happy to report that The Coctails’ Popcorn Box is not only the coolest music package I’ve seen all year, but the contents are equally great. Three CDs, 56 tracks (12 previously unreleased) and a nice book detailing the band’s unusual career and wacky merchandise, which included cloth dolls of each of the four members. All this comes in a sturdy box designed to mimic an old-fashioned popcorn container. The Coctails are a hard band to pin down stylistically, but are probably best known as the forerunners of the early 90s lounge-rock scene that spawned groups like Combustible Edison and Love Jones. They tackle pop, jazz, carnival music, polka and klezmer with equal flair and skill, and surprisingly rarely float into jokey territory. This box set has tracks from all of their releases, including rare singles and compilation appearances. It’s a fun overview of an extremely talented band, that still sounds as fresh as they did 15 years ago.

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